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A low-cost, easy-to-use sensor which can test drinking water for arsenic in just one minute has been developed by Imperial and UCL researchers. Worldwide, 140 million people drink water containing unsafe levels of arsenic, according to the World Health Organisation. Short-term exposure causes skin lesions, skin cancer and damage to the cognitive development of children, while long-term exposure leads to fatal internal cancers.

Lithium-ion batteries could be under threat after the development of polymer materials by the Universities of Bristol and Surrey, along with Superdielectrics Ltd, that could challenge the dominance of these traditional batteries - and they are ready to demonstrate their results. Only one year ago, the partners announced scientific results for novel polymer materials that have dielectric properties 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than existing electrolytes (electrical conductors).

Scientists at Imperial College London have become the first in the world to test how pathogens interact with artificial human organs. Artificial human organs, or organ-on-chip technologies, simulate a whole organ's cell make up and physiology. They act as alternatives to animal models in drug safety testing, but until now they have not been used to test how infectious diseases interact with the organs.

Using augmented reality in the operating theatre could help surgeons to improve the outcome of reconstructive surgery for patients. In a series of procedures carried out by a team at Imperial College London at St Mary's Hospital, researchers have shown for the first time how surgeons can use Microsoft HoloLens headsets while operating on patients undergoing reconstructive lower limb surgery.

Technology that accurately monitors food intake could help to better distribute food resources to communities and vulnerable people around the world. A new project to research the underlying technology - funded by a $US 1.5 million grant the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - will see researchers from the Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London developing wearable and wall mounted sensors and AI technology to monitor how households consume food.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.

A prototype device for gauging patients' immunity to Ebola has been developed by a multi-institutional team of experts led by Imperial College London. The device, which was developed in collaboration with UCL , works in a similar way to a pregnancy test. However instead of detecting hormones, it looks for an antibody called Immunoglobulin G (IgG), which is released following exposure to certain viruses.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.

A promising new approach to detect immunity to Ebola virus infection has been developed by researchers from i-sense in a collaboration between UCL and Imperial College London. Published in ACS Nano , the new approach uses lateral flow technology, similar to that of a pregnancy test, coupled with smartphones to provide a promising alternative to lab-based testing.

Potentially life-saving 'health monitor' technology designed by University of Sussex physicists Sick babies in remote parts of the world could be monitored from afar, thanks to new wearable technology designed by physicists at the University of Sussex. And parents at home, concerned about the risk of cot death, could keep track of their new babies' heart and breathing rates with automatic updates to their smartphones, using 'fitness tracker'-style technology built into baby sleep suits.

An international team of astronomers has revealed an 'astonishing' overabundance of massive stars in a neighbouring galaxy. The discovery, made in the gigantic star-forming region 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, has 'far-reaching' consequences for our understanding of how stars transformed the pristine Universe into the one we live in today.

People are more likely to go with their gut and trust personal opinions irrespective of evidence that might be presented during an election or referendum campaign, according to an important new economic study. A new paper, published by our Department of Economics , shows that voters tend to retain strong attachment to their own opinions even when this is challenged by evidence.

New Oxford University research has revealed that as digital past-times have become intertwined with daily life, children have adapted their behaviours to include their devices. Much like adults, they are able to multi-task and do all the things that they would do anyway, such as, homework and playing outdoors with friends.

Digital screen use is a staple of contemporary life for adults and children, whether they are browsing on laptops and smartphones, or watching TV. Paediatricians and scientists have long expressed concerns about the impact of overusing technology on people's wellbeing. However, new Oxford University research suggests that existing guidance managing children's digital media time may not be as beneficial as first thought.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham will form part of a new £5m multi-university Research Institute to improve hardware security and reduce vulnerability to cyber threats. Funded by EPSRC and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) , the Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) is one of four cyber security institutes in the UK and will be a global hub for research and innovation in hardware security over the next five years.

Adolescent cannabis use is an independent risk factor for future hypomania - often experienced as part of bipolar disorder - finds new research led by University of Warwick. First research to robustly test the association between adolescent cannabis use and hypomania (periods of elated mood, over-active and excited behaviour, reduced need for sleep) in early adulthood.

Imperial experts discuss a new way of combating EED, a debilitating disease in children that is prevalent in the developing world. Environmental Enteric Dysfunction , or EED, is widespread in developing countries and has severe negative impacts on children's physical and cognitive development. The condition is poorly understood, and the techniques currently used to study and identify the disease are invasive and difficult to administer.

White children show signs of implicit racism from the age of five by favouring people with the same skin colour, according to new research. Academics from the University of Bristol and York University in Toronto measured the automatic attitudes of 359 white children aged five to 12-years-old by testing their preferences of unknown white and black children in photographs.

Smallest microplastics in oceans - which go largely undetected - identified more effectively with innovative and cheap new method, developed by University of Warwick researchers New method can detect microplastics as small as the width of a human hair, using a fluorescent dye Previous scientific field work surveys report that only 1% of the plastic waste in the oceans has been found - this new research could lead to discovering the missing 99% T

Researchers have developed a solution to a longstanding problem in the field of end-to-end encryption, a technique that ensures that only sender and recipient can read a message. With current end-to-end encryption, if an attacker compromises a recipient's device, they can then put themselves in a position to intercept, read and alter all future communications without sender or recipient ever knowing.